Folding Bikes - any good budge 16" folding bike?

Hey Vincent, I am in NYC too. Where are you here exactly? If it's not too far and if I have time I can help you out when your bike comes. I have a Brompton and a Strida by the way.

and what kinda tools does it come with or do i need to put the bike together?

Basically you will need a 15mm open wrench for the pedals and a multi-tool for the rest of the bike. Make sure the brakes stop ok and the wheels are true and etc... it's kind of hard to type all the things you need to check. I know nothing about the internal gear hub so i can't tell you enough about it. I honestly thing it's not a bad idea to take the bike for initial tune up just to make sure everything is good to go.
You don't get tools with the bike so be prepared before you get the bike :o

Hey Vincent, I am in NYC too. Where are you here exactly? If it's not too far and if I have time I can help you out when your bike comes. I have a Brompton and a Strida by the way.

Thx for the offer. They are shipping my bike to my midtown office beginning in the middle of sept and I'm expecting my bike probably by end of sept. Where you at? If its too far I can take my bike on the train to u? Maybe we can go for a ride in central park or something afterward.

Bike is approx 95% assembled. You just need to install the following: seatpost (seat already attached), and a pedal. Then pump the tires and adjust the handlebar, seatpost, and maybe the hub and brakes. You also need to detach the plastics and cardboards that protects the frame from being scratched. I attached the pedal with hand pressure and it is enough for now, but I would use a 15MM wrench to avoid future disasters. After that you are ready to roll. They do not include any tools.

When you say 95% complete, what about the fenders and rack?

When you say 95% complete, what about the fenders and rack?

It should be on the bike.... If I were you I would probably worry about the big things like brakes, gears and wheels and not the little things, safety first kind of thing...... :D
When are you getting your bike ?

They said my bike should be shipped probably by mid-sept when they get some new bike. When you said brakes, gears, and wheels...I need to attach those? Those parts are separate from the bike?

Those parts should already be installed. I think what he is referring to is adjusting them to make sure everything is in working order before you go on your first ride. The easiest way to do this is to take it to your local bike shop. In fact, if it's a Dahon, you MUST take it to your local bike shop for the warranty to be activated.

--sam

Those parts should already be installed. I think what he is referring to is adjusting them to make sure everything is in working order before you go on your first ride. The easiest way to do this is to take it to your local bike shop. In fact, if it's a Dahon, you MUST take it to your local bike shop for the warranty to be activated.

--sam

when i bring it to the bike shop...how do i know if the warranty will be activated? what must they do in order to activate the warranty and how do i tell?

They said my bike should be shipped probably by mid-sept when they get some new bike. When you said brakes, gears, and wheels...I need to attach those? Those parts are separate from the bike?

No these parts are already installed and in a working condition, having said that when i got my Dahon Mu P8 i had to adjust the brakes, the handlepost and the gears, if you are not familiar with these I would strongly recommend to take it for a tune up before doing any long rides.
Although Dahon bikes should be ride-ready out of the box, in my case both bikes that we own needed some adjustments.

...having said that when i got my Dahon Mu P8 i had to adjust the brakes, the handlepost and the gears, if you are not familiar with these I would strongly recommend to take it for a tune up before doing any long rides.
Although Dahon bikes should be ride-ready out of the box, in my case both bikes that we own needed some adjustments.

ok..when you said adjustment...how do you adjust brakes, gears and handlepost...dont i need to learn that sooner or later anyway? may as well learn it when i get my dahon bike...u got any links or website how to adjust these things? thx in advance.

when i bring it to the bike shop...how do i know if the warranty will be activated? what must they do in order to activate the warranty and how do i tell?

^^^ can someone answer this question???

I don't know the answer to that one as I don't personally own a Dahon. I just know that their warranty requires a basic tune up from an LBS before it can be activated. If you don't get an answer here, you might try asking the question on the Dahon forums. You'll be sure to get an answer there.

--sam

Or you could just search these forums... I found this by searching...

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=352528&highlight=dahon+warranty

Expect to pay the shop for a tune up to satisfy the terms of the warranty - they understandably won't want to do this for free when you went and bought the bike someplace else.

I have a D3 and it's ok. I have about 600 miles on it because I got a rash of flats and then the rear wheel nut got stripped. I've since ordered Schwalbe Marathons and replacement nuts for the hub. I guess I'm reasonably happy with the bike. It's down for the count until I get those nuts though.

ok..when you said adjustment...how do you adjust brakes, gears and handlepost...dont i need to learn that sooner or later anyway? may as well learn it when i get my dahon bike...u got any links or website how to adjust these things? thx in advance.

Check this out, this is probably one of the best websites out there:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com

Check this out, this is probably one of the best websites out there:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com

What links on that website that discuss how to adjust/tune gears, brakes, and handlepost? There are millions on links on that website with ads...its like that site care is about advertisement money instead of bike.

What links on that website that discuss how to adjust/tune gears, brakes, and handlepost? There are millions on links on that website with ads...its like that site care is about advertisement money instead of bike.

Dude, this is probably the best resource out there, try and search for all the things you need to adjust on your new bike.... lets say: "internal gear hub", search it on Sheldon's website and you will get the types that are out there and how to adjust info.
It's kind of hard to explain all the things you need to check and adjust when you get your new bike, this is why I have suggested you to take it to Dahon authorized dealer for a tune up before you ride, yes it will cost you $$$ but at least you will know the bike is good to go... This is your call, while you can save some money and do the tune ups by yourself, you first have to learn how to do it right. Keep in mind that you will need to invest in a good multitool ($20-$30), 15mm pedal wrench ($5-$15) and another wrench for the wheels because the Curve doesn't have QR ($5-$15).
If you are going to own a folding bike, like any other bike you have got a choice which path you wanna take:
1. DIY - you will have to learn to do the basic stuff and you will need to invest in some basic but decent tools. OR...
2. You can find a LBS that sells Dahon, purchase the bike from them and you will probably get some free tune ups and you will have someone who will service your bike periodically.

Folders like any other bikes need to be serviced... sometime you have to adjust it a few times until you find the 'sweet spot', if you don't do it right, things may go wrong.

TC

What links on that website that discuss how to adjust/tune gears, brakes, and handlepost? There are millions on links on that website with ads...its like that site care is about advertisement money instead of bike.

Oh Vincent. Why don't you just search for 2 minutes? There are a million links because Sheldon gave freely of his time and tried to cover every topic. Under "articles by Sheldon Brown", which is on almost every page, there are sections clearly labelled "Gears and Drivetrain", and "Brakes". If you really want to care for your bike, you're going to have to start taking at least a little responsibility yourself. A 30 second search would have found you what you needed, so you wouldn't have had to come back here and say "Where is it? Can someone answer this question pleases??"

There are millions on links on that website with ads...its like that site care is about advertisement money instead of bike.

Really? I always thought Sheldon's website was pretty good about that. It is sponsered by the Harris Cyclery which also contains little blips of Sheldon.